A man who murdered his neighbour in a knife attack during an argument over noise has been jailed for 18 years.

Thomas Sellar, 38, attacked and murdered Jamie Walsh during a violent confrontation in Greenock, Inverclyde, in September 2015.

A judge sentenced him to life in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday and ordered him to serve a minimum of 18 years before being considered for parole.

The court previously heard how Sellar had admitted killing the 23-year-old but claimed he was acting in self defence because he feared for his life.

He told jurors during his trial last month that Mr Walsh was in a group that attacked him outside his property in the town. However, Mr Walsh's 26-year-old brother Christopher told the court that Jamie hadn't done anything wrong.

He said his sibling had been murdered and that Sellar had stabbed himself in the moments following the deadly attack.

Christopher Walsh told the court he believed Sellar had stabbed himself in a bid to evade justice. Last month a jury rejected Sellar's claims that he was acting in self-defence and convicted him of murder.

Sellar has six previous convictions for offences involving knives. He claimed he was acting in self defence because Mr Walsh was a member of a group of youths that were attacking him.

The killer and victim both lived at Wren Road in Greenock. Jurors heard how Mr Walsh had recently moved into a flat below Sellar, which was being rented by a friend.

The court heard that in the days before the incident, Sellar had objected to "noise" which was coming from the downstairs flat.

He told the court that on the night of the incident, he had gone to the property to try to convince the residents to keep the noise down.

However, Sellar told defence advocate Herbert Kerrigan QC that a group of youths objected to his approach and chased him back to his flat. He told the court that he was being "battered" by the youths.

Sellar told the court that when he got back to his property, he felt he had no other option but to grab a knife. He said he thought the youths were going to kill him and he wanted to use the blade in a bid to protect himself.

However, Sellar said that in the ensuing chaos, the knife came into contact with Mr Walsh, who died shortly afterwards from his injuries.

He said: "I was terrified. I thought I was going to die. You think you're going to die in a horrible way.

"They chased me down. I couldn't breathe. I never intended to kill him. I never intended for anything like this to happen."

Christopher Walsh told jurors that his brother didn't do anything wrong and that Sellar had attacked him. He told the court that following the incident, Sellar claimed he had been stabbed first and showed off a wound he claimed to have suffered during the fight.

Nicky Patrick, procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, said: "It is clear that Thomas Sellar chose to arm himself and confront his victim with the purpose of doing him serious harm.

"As prosecutors we are well aware of the devastating affect that knife crime can have and this is another tragic example of that, even more so for friends and some family members who witnessed the brutal murder.

"Justice has been served with Sellar brought to account for this terrible crime and he now faces a very substantial prison sentence."